Meet Jackie

I am Jackie Cunningham, owner of Green Kite Virtual Assistant Services. I partner with solo entrepreneurs, providing the creative support they need to focus on what they love and do best. I’m passionate about the art of virtual assistance. My joy comes from seeing the difference I make in my clients’ lives, giving them back the time they need to do what’s most important, whether that’s spending more time with the kids, re-energizing their business, moving more quickly toward goals, finding time for self-care or meeting a personal milestone. My success is in my clients’ success – and that’s why I love what I do!

If you asked me to describe myself in twenty adjectives or less, I would choose: creative, professional, fun-loving, authentic, down-to-earth, organized, resourceful, open-minded, proactive, intelligent, collaborative, trustworthy, curious, spiritual, dedicated, caring and confident. I think that sums me up!

I value integrity and meaningful relationships. I always work with my client’s best interest at heart. I believe that by standing for my client I stand for myself. I welcome a good challenge. I’m an expert problem solver and love turning challenges into success stories. I am a “one stop shop” for my clients – come to me with anything and I will either take care of it myself, or use my vast list of resources to get it handled. I am naturally drawn to working with coaches, consultants and other creative-minded entrepreneurs. I love the collaborative process that happens between true partners, and that’s what makes this work so incredibly exciting to me.

I’ll be the first to admit I’m a bit of a geek in that I love technology, computers and the Internet. I am always interested in learning about the latest technologies and online tools to help streamline my life and work. I’m both PC and Mac literate – although I must be honest here and say that my heart belongs to my iMac. That said, I work in both platforms daily and I’m proficient in both operating systems. I guess you could say I boot both ways.

My Life Before the Virtual World

For the first fifteen years of my career I held a variety of administrative support positions, always in small businesses. I value those experiences so much because it was then that I learned about building client relationships, great customer service and the inner workings of business. I gained some awesome skills that eventually helped me realize my dream of owning a business. I spent the last ten years of my career life in businesses of my own, starting with a graphic design/desktop publishing company and then transitioning into a Proforma printing and promotional products franchise. As the sole proprietor, and for the most part only employee, I handled everything related to the day-to-day operations. I’ve answered phones, handled customer service, researched and selected vendors, managed schedules and calendars, developed marketing materials and campaigns, designed and written newsletters, maintained client and vendor databases, designed and maintained web sites, planned events, done accounting and fiscal planning, written proposals, done inside and outside sales, handled research and purchasing of equipment and probably just about anything else you can imagine.

When my son was born I took a hard look at my life and how much of it I was devoting to my work. I loved my business, but more than anything else I wanted to be a great mom, so I made the tough decision to sell my business and stay at home with my son. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, and I am incredibly grateful for those years with him.

As my son grew more independent and kindergarten loomed just around the corner I began to think about what I wanted to do next. I knew that I wanted my own business again, with flexible hours, the freedom to work from anywhere, doing something that would combine my creative talents, love of computers and technology, and my extensive administrative background.

During a morning walk one day, I was listening to an audio program by Cheryl Richardson called Finding Your Passion. She talked about virtual assistance and Stacy Brice, founder of AssistU. This was the first time I’d heard of virtual assistance, but I knew immediately this was the path I had been searching for. I researched and read everything I could find about training programs and found that the most rigorous and respected program was at AssistU. I completed the challenging application process and was accepted.

My virtual assistant training at AssistU consisted of over 200 hours in 20 weeks of intensive, comprehensive course work, independent study and practical experience. If you’ve done much research, or worked with an AssistU VA before, you already know that AssistU VAs are the only ones in the world who receive such broad and deep industry-specific training. And of those who apply to the AssistU program, less than 50% are accepted. We are a close-knit, supportive community with high standards for ourselves, our businesses and the clients we work with – the cream of the crop!

A Little More Personal

My husband Paul is a college English professor, writer and awesome Native American Flute player; my son, Nate, is a bright, funny, energetic young man with a lively imagination. We live in a small town in central Illinois. Together we love to watch movies, take nature walks, travel, play Wii and read books (Curious George is one of our favorites).

I’m a big believer in self-care, so when I take time to do something just for me I like to read culinary mysteries, books about metaphysics, spirituality, self-improvement (some of my favorite authors are Cheryl Richardson, Eckhart Tolle, Julia Cameron, Jan Phillips and Sonia Choquette) and of course anything related to new technology and internet marketing. I enjoy meditation and journaling. I’m a Reiki practitioner and a fan of alternative healing therapies. I have an affinity for dragonflies.

I love to learn so I’m almost always involved in some kind of class or workshop. I’ve most recently studied creative writing, web design, blogging and podcasting, The Artist’s Way series by Julia Cameron and Tools for Transformation with Jan Phillips. How’s that for eclectic? All I can say is that if something catches my interest (and many things do) I want to learn all about it.

My most recent passion is working with Illinois Search Dogs — a team of professional volunteers who train and deploy certified Search & Rescue K-9 teams to assist in locating lost or missing persons in emergencies, including natural and man-made distasters.  I’m currently training to work as a K-9 handler in the discipline of area search and first-responder (local) disaster. In the spring of 2010 I will begin the search for my K-9 partner. My team members are amazing people with even more amazing dogs who selflessly give of themselves, their time and resources to help others. I am honored to be in their company. As a team, we are on call 24/7 and go when and where we’re needed, usually on very short notice (another reason it’s good I can work from anywhere!). We function solely on our own financial resources and generous donations from private individuals and companies and provide our teams at no cost to requesting agencies. If you’re looking for a worthy cause, I encourage you to check us out. Your donation (of any size) is tax-deductible and very much appreciated.

My Professional Training and Certifications

AssistU:
Virtual Assistant Training Program — Graduate, August 2008

VAClassroom.com:
Facebook Fan Pages

Hot Skills VA Training:
Certified eCommerce Specialist
Website and Blog Specialist
Membership Specialist (WishList Member)

Practice Pay Solutions:
Basic Shopping Cart Training Certification Program (1ShoppingCart)
Advanced Shopping Cart Training Program (1ShoppingCart)

Other Training:
Facebook for Business — Christine Gallagher
Advanced Facebook Marketing Strategies — Christine Gallagher
Twitter Power Strategies — Christine Gallagher
Boost Business with Your Own Ezine — Ali Brown
Online Video Made Easy — Denise Wakeman & Lou Bortone